Gyroscopes can be implemented in a variety of applications, such as for navigation and/or guidance systems for aircraft and/or spacecraft. One type of gyroscope is a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) gyroscope that operates on the principle of sensing inertial angular rotation rate or angle about a sensitive axis based on a shift in the Larmor precession frequency or phase of one or two isotopes that possess nuclear magnetic moments. As an example, an NMR gyroscope cell can contain one or more alkali metal vapors, such as Rubidium, together with one or two gyromagnetic isotopes that are caused to process in response to a magnetic field. As a result, the Larmor precession frequency and phase information of the one or two gyromagnetic isotopes can be extracted to calculate a rotation frequency about the sensitive axis based on the extracted Larmor precession frequencies and phase information.
Another type of gyroscope can be an interferometer that can be used as an inertial sensor. As an example, the interferometer can include matter-wave propagation beam paths enclosing a finite area that senses rotations via the Sagnac effect. The matter-wave propagation beam paths can be configured as a single beam of atoms that is split into two beams and guided around two counter-rotating paths by an atomic waveguide. The beams can then be recombined for interferometry to measure rotation rate. Thus, the interferometer can likewise be used as a rotation rate sensor for use in avionics, such as for an aircraft or spacecraft.